China’s exports and imports surged and new lending soared in January, signaling a solid recovery, while rising exports and less imported oil helped push the U.S. trade deficit to its narrowest point in nearly three years in December.

The narrower U.S. trade gap suggested the economy did much better in the fourth quarter than initially estimated, when an advance reading showed it contracted at a 0.1 percent annual rate in part because of a decline in inflation-adjusted exports.

MSCI’s all-country world equity index rose 0.5 percent to 355.72, while shares in Europe rebounded nearly 1.2 percent after a fall on Thursday wiped out the year’s gains.

The Dow Jones industrial average was up 62.14 points, or 0.45 percent, at 14,006.19. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index was up 7.28 points, or 0.48 percent, at 1,516.67. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 26.02 points, or 0.82 percent, at 3,191.15.

“The sentiment is there for the market to go higher,” said Caroline Vincent, European equities fund manager at Cavendish Asset Management.

The yen also jumped as doubts rose on whether the next governor of the Bank of Japan will ease policy aggressively.

The yen, which fell to its low against the euro since April 2010 and the lowest against the dollar since May 2010 on Wednesday, got a boost from Finance Minister Taro Aso’s comments that the yen’s slide from 78 to 90 per dollar was steeper than intended.

The dollar fell against the yen to 92.15 yen and was last trading at 92.38 yen, down 1.4 percent.

Brent crude oil rose toward a nine-month high above $118 a barrel on the robust Chinese trade data, which augurs well for fuel demand, while supply worries stemming from tensions in the Middle East have also supported prices.

Brent gained $1.42 to $118.66 a barrel, and U.S. crude futures rose 58 cents to $96.41.

Treasury prices fell. The benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note was down 7/32 in price to yield 1.9823 percent.